Starting a business can be complicated, especially when you’re deciding where to locate it. Small towns are becoming the favorable route when businesses want a smaller market, less operational costs, and even less city and state taxes. These smaller cities provide a nice starting point for small business owners who can manipulate less to create more. In two weeks, National Small Business Week kicks-off and analysts have identified the Top 20 Best Small Cities to Start a Business. The results are based on a study of 1,268 small-size cities across America and compared against several key metrics. The Top 20 are as follows: 1 Holland, MI 11 Enid, OK 2 North Chicago, IL 12 Wilson, NC 3 Brighton, NY 13 Irondequoit, NY 4 Jefferson City, MO 14 East Chicago, IN 5 La Vergne, TN 15 Deer Park, TX 6 Inver Grove Heights, MN 16 Midvale, UT 7 Clearfield, UT 17 Chesterfield, MO 8 Dothan, AL 18 Riviera Beach, FL 9 Cheyenne, WY 19 Maryland Heights, MO 10 Deerfield Beach, FL 20 Rapid City, SD Some additional key points to note are: * Miami Beach, Fla. – highest number of startups per 100,000 residents, 246 * Santa Paula, Calif. – highest industry variety * Bethesda, Md. – highest percentage of the population with at least a bachelor’s degree, 82.2 percent * Mountain View, Calif. – least affordable office spaces, with a price of $65.87 per sq. ft. per year * Carbondale, Ill. – lowest labor costs, $17,677 * Weslaco, Texas – lowest cost-of-living index * East Lansing, Mich. – shortest average work week, 28 hours Fore more information on this list, check out WalletHub. Photo credit: Wikipedia
